Any publications or references discussed herein are presented to describe the background of the invention and to provide additional detail regarding its practice. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.
Demulsifiers are used as process aids in crude oil production to separate the emulsified water from produced oil. Conventional demulsifiers are typically polymeric and interfacially-active. Many of these materials are non-biodegradable and some of them can be environmentally undesirable. Due to increased eco-toxicological constraints, current industry focus has been to use more biodegradable and less toxic materials for these applications.
Some silicones are also increasingly being used in the oil and gas industry for various applications, such as for antifoam applications and for the dewatering of crude oil. But there still exists a demand for silicones which can provide high performance demulsification while also providing enhanced biodegradability.